Home schooling has always been something that I've had an internal battle with. I am not a die hard homeschooler, neither am I a proponent of the public school system. I have spent countless hours doing a mental negative and positive check list for each choice.
I home schooled our children up until the year I had the twins. Having 4 in diapers didn't make for a very good educational environment, so I sent them to public school since we could not afford private.
So for the last 2 years the children have been in the public school system. I have seen much growth in them, but I've also seen where even the best teachers can have the best intentions but still fall short.
I was still content in my choice of schooling up until about 3 weeks into this summer when there was a very noticeable change in the dynamics and peacefulness of our home. I did not know why but it was like things just "grooved" again. It took a few days for me to realize that it was the fact that they were once again working as a team, getting along, and the stresses of classroom life and peer pressure had eased.
This was the beginning of the Lord talking to my heart in the direction I needed to choose for our family.
My 'mental' arguments came down to this: I
either had to homeschool all of them or none
of them, for last year I did both
homeschool AND public and I felt like I was
homeschooling literally all day because
once my public school kids got home they had 2
hours of busy work homework, most of which
they didn't understand because of how little
they actually learned in the midst of their
peers.
I also felt like I made my homeschooling child
miss out on activities because I was always
having to be home at certain times for my "in
school" kids.
in all of Corpus Christi's main schools (not
charter schools) and they STILL failed to
properly educate 3 out 4 of my children.
That's sad. My 5th grader was stuck with kids
on a 3rd grade reading and math level, and
given spelling tests with someone spelling for
her just so that she could feel the
accomplishment of getting a good grade. Not
ok!
In the midst of making this decision, I had a
friend tell me not to send my oldest to
middle school. She said day one of
middle school, she came home asking her mom
what a bl*w j*b was. She said she got through
it because she was in all advanced honors
classes, but that so many of her peers didn't,
especially ones with labels...another girl in
a different state, told me she watched
her middle school friends give out
bl*w j*bs like Lolly pops behind lockers....
and while I'm not ignorant in thinking they
won't learn about these things in time, age 11
would not be the age I choose.
My 5th grader Faith, who was home
schooled last year DID 5th grade work, so
she'd be repeating 5th grade if I sent her to
public.
My 3rd grader Coco was the one who did well
last year academically, but is begging to be
Home schooled...
Malacai was in k4 last year and they
labeled him with Asberghers, I requested that
they test him, and come to find out he's just
a genius (IQ at age 4 was tested at 140) who
doesn't quite get the idea of other peoples
"personal people space"
Just this summer alone he learned all of the
states, most of the countries and will quickly
correct those who say Africa is a country.
It's quite comical since he can't even
pronounce the word "continent" correctly lol.
The catcher for me though was the fact that
within a month of being home, he stopped
biting his nails/chewing his fingers until
they bled.
I know the social aspect and pressure of
school was too much for him. I really look
forward to watching him blossom this year.
I also look forward to just being a family as
well. The stress and the fighting/bickering
has dramatically improved within the first few
weeks of summer. It's like they forget how to
interact with their siblings who are older and
younger than them because they are only ever
around their peers. And let's face it, what
adult is around their peers 8+ hours a day? No
one that I know...
And yet even with all these mental positives,
I still majorly waffled in my decision.
I had family tell me things like: "its too
much" "how can you possibly do it?"
and "well, they need and education" and so
much more. I doubted my ability and my
patience level.
Could I truly, daily die to myself to choose what I knew was best for my children? Obviously the answer was an astounding NO!
Then pastor Don began preaching about dying to our flesh, and living the crucified life of Christ. One Sunday when he asked us to bow our heads and rededicate our lives to His service, I knew exactly in what way Christ wanted me to die...that being giving up my quiet mornings of coffee and Good Morning America, and my trips out with just the little ones to play dates, to do something so much greater: teaching my children with a God centered approach.
Still, I could not bring myself to make the final decision of homeschooling them until yesterday when I opened my Bible and it was like God speaking into all the doubtful corners of my heart bringing hope and peace with this scripture: "The children of your house shall dwell secure; their offspring shall be established before you (Psalm 102:28)
Then my eyes strayed a page over to this scripture: "I will ponder the way that is blameless. Oh when will you come to me? I will walk with integrity of heart WITHIN my house; I will not set before my eyes anything that is worthless. (Psalm 101:2) In light of eternity, that coffee and Good Morning America seems pretty worthless no? lol
I'm not going to lie and say I'm not scared, or that I will have it all together. I guarantee you I will not. I promise there will be days I will want to give up, days I will complain, but in those days I know where my hope lies, in Him, knowing that He has called me. And while I feel less than equipped, it is HE who will fill in the gaps and give me strength.
We have chosen to do a Unit Study approach through My Father's World. This year we will be taking a trip around the world. The children will each get their own passport that will be stamped as we "visit" each country and learn all about their culture. Then the children will have their individual levels in Math and English/literature. God has blessed me with a beautiful friend who also home schools, she has been a major blessing to me in every way. Thank you Marsha :)
I am excited and will be photo-blogging weekly of our global adventures.
This has been a blog post of baring my soul. I know in moments of doubt I will look back at this post and be reminded of the whys and the reasons I chose to do this huge undertaking. Anyways, if you made it this far you deserve a prize :) THE END!~
1 comment:
Proud of you for following your heart on this one ... and God's will for your family! His strength will get you through with success stories to boast of!
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